7/31/16

This is a long post because it's been crazy around here the last two weeks. I am going to start with the bad news. I took Mollie back to the shelter where we got her last Monday. We'd had a very bad 2 weeks with her and we realized we could not live with a dog that has the aggression problems that she has.

You see, the builders have been working on the garage/shop and she would not stop barking at them. I could not even put her on a leash and approach them to introduce them to her. She snarled and lunged and pretty much acted like she wanted to take a huge chunk out of them with her very powerful jaws. It's been very frustrating.

Then, there was a big family wedding. My nephew Daniel and his fiance Jordan tied the knot on Saturday the 23rd. Family came from all over the country to attend the wedding including my daughter Sarah and son-in-law Frank. We had family coming and going all weekend and during that time Mollie was frighteningly aggressive. She even attacked my daughter and her husband in the house right in front of me. Fortunately, they know how to react in a situation like that. She didn't bite them, but she definitely pinned them in place with ferocious barking, lunging, growling, and teeth baring. I was so afraid she was going to bite them. She was being a very aggressive guard dog and it was terrifying. We weren't able to introduce her to any of the rest of the family because she just wouldn't let them get near. We had to keep her away from everyone. That is not the kind of dog I want.

We came to realize that the shelter had been lied to about her. They were told she loved people and other dogs. No, she doesn't. They were told she's good around kids. She is definitely not! They were told she rides good in cars. No, she doesn't. She was fine at home with just my husband, me, and daughter Ruth, and was the sweetest most loving thing you could ever meet, but she became dangerous if anyone or anything else came around. Now, initially, I thought I could train her away from this kind of behavior, and even considered hiring a professional trainer to help me, but I was lying to myself. I can't. I am not physically strong enough to handle her and I can not live with a dog that dangerous. So we made the painful decision to take her back.

The shelter was very understanding and kind about it. They said we did the right thing. They will find her a home that will be much more appropriate for her temperament. Someone strong, who wants a guard dog.

So now we are dogless. I cried for 2 days. I've let Mollie down horribly. I love her very much, but she scares the shit out of me. We will look for another dog with a much gentler personality, but for now, I'm just going to remain dogless for a while.

Now I'm moving on to the good news. They started building the garage. HOORAY. I've got pictures.

On Friday, the 15th, the building crew showed up and started digging holes for the garage poles. They finished them on the 19th.

On the 20th they started installing the poles in the holes. We have a 4 man crew. They braced each pole in the holes. They couldn't fill the holes with concrete until they'd been inspected.

It was fascinating to watch how they did it. All the poles went up very fast using the little machine they had.

On the morning of the 21st an inspector arrived to look at the holes. He had them dig one just a little deeper, then declared them good. Then three concrete trucks arrived to fill in the holes with concrete.

On Friday, the 22nd, they installed the first roof truss, which is basically a facade on the front of the building. The day ended with it looking like this. They let the concrete cure over the weekend and we had the wedding going on. Lots of family came by the house to see the progress on our garage. This building is much larger than I was able to picture in my mind. It's pretty impressive to stand in.

On Monday, the 25th they installed about half the roof trusses. It was interesting to watch these 4 guys lift them very high and manipulate them with their two machines and get them installed. I am very impressed with their skills.

They finished installing the trusses the next day. Then they started working on the boards that connect between the trusses. If you click on the pic below to embiggen it, you'll see one young man standing on a truss way up high to nail one end of the boards in. You couldn't pay me to do that.

On Thursday they worked on the sophets and got them installed.

On Friday they installed the roof insulation and metal. I told them to smile for Facebook.

We can stand inside and stay dry now. Or shaded, as the case may be. It was over 90F degrees that day.

I went grocery shopping after they quit for the day and could not resist parking in the garage when I got home.

That's it's status at the moment. Tomorrow the builders will arrive and get busy with the next step. However, I will be missing it. In fact, we'll be away until Friday. It's the annual Park family camping trip up on Priest Lake. I'm kind of sad that I'll be missing the progress and won't be able to take pics of it, but I am so looking forward to camping. We didn't get to go last year and I really felt bad about it.

I should mention the wedding was wonderful. It was fun seeing so much family and the venue was fantastic. It was held at Riverview Mill Ranch in Post Falls. I enjoyed it very much.

Through all of the last two weeks I've been knitting like crazy. I've been feeling so stressed and anxious so I turned to knitting to relax. I've made 2 layette sets (# 14 and 15), except the blankets. I hadn't cut and prepared the fleece fabric for them until today. So I will be taking that along with me to crochet the edgings so the sets will be complete. I've started the cardigan for layette set #16. No pics until after I get back.

My daughter, Ruth, has been home from college and was bitten by the layette bug a couple weeks ago. She is helping me knit them for KnitWits. We're having a blast doing them. She's made 3 sets so far.

We'll be coming home on Friday. My husband is participating in Ride Idaho this year and needs to be home so he can get ready and head south to Ketchum, ID for that. Otherwise, we'd stay until next Sunday. I'm taking my camera, and maybe a couple of my dolls too.

7/14/16

Just a quick WIP post. I've been working on the cardigan for layette set #14.

I love these 3 colors together. The green is actually brighter and greener than the pic shows.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I got to spend about an hour and a half out on my deck enjoying it while knitting and listening to music. It was a very pleasant time. I had Mollie out with me.

The garage almost got started yesterday. It was supposed to start, but it didn't. The builder showed up around 9:30 in the morning. I was just about to leave. I had to take my husbands pickup truck into Post Falls to the DMV office to get a State Park sticker (for an upcoming camping trip). I talked to him, then left.

Our builders name is Andy. He introduced himself and told me he was going to start digging holes. The roof trusses are sitting right where he needs to start digging. So he said he'd call and get a forklift brought out to move them. I left after that.

Daughter said that after I left, he talked on the phone quite a bit, and then he left. When I got home they were just delivering a couple pieces of equipment, including a forklift. I didn't see the builder again. He called Doug and told him he'd be here today. This is starting to get annoying.

I'm going to Yarnies this morning whether he's here or not. I need to get away and be with friends for a bit.

7/12/16

Yes, another one is done. I am having a fun time making these, which is odd because I don't usually like knitting the same thing over and over again. But I think changing colors with each outfit is somehow making it not boring. Anyway, this is the last of the polka dot fleece. I present set number 13.

I am out of fabric pieces cut to size with the holes pierced. So I will be digging some more out of the closet and getting it ready. In the meantime, I've chosen the yarns for the next set and will be casting on the cardigan today. I'm trying to decide if I want to go with the same pattern, or try something new. Decisions, decisions.

Update on the garage: Well, things happened yesterday. Both a step forward, and a step back. I'll start with the bad news first so I can end this blog post on a positive note. We received a letter from the county informing us that there are errors regarding the property description in the paperwork we filed for the lot line adjustment. They enclosed a copy of the page with the errors on it with the errors marked. Well, I have 3 copies of that document stored away so I dug one out. It turns out that the page they sent us does not match the page that was supposed to have been sent to them. The one we signed is correct. We think the surveyor may have made some changes after we gave the document to him to file (after we had it signed and notarized). Needless to say, I am furious! We have to refile, which costs money, not to mention the hassle of getting things straightened out. At least it won't affect our building permit which has been approved.

Now, for the good news. Yesterday this was delivered.

It's a Bobcat with a very large post hole digger. They are going to start building Wednesday. The first thing they are going to do is dig holes for the posts, thus, the above machinery. Then the holes have to be inspected by an official hole inspector. I did not know there was such a thing. I hope that goes well. After that inspection, assuming they pass it, the building will go up. I'm told it will go surprisingly fast. We'll see. Having this show up returned my faith that it will be built.

The weather this past week has been unseasonably cool and wet for July. I'm not complaining. It's been so nice. I even liked the rainy days. But it is rather odd for it to be in the 60's and 70's in July. Normally we bake in relentless heat and praise the fellow who invented air conditioning.

There has been no progress on our garage/shop. We have been waiting for the county to approve the building permits. It's a slow process that takes a long time as this is the busiest time of year for them. Rumor has it it's been approved, but we won't know for sure until later this week, probably after the July 4th holiday. I can't believe it's been well over 2 months since we signed the building contract and forked over large sums of money and no building is happening. Keeping my fingers crossed that this week it will start.